Undergraduate Programs

Bachelor of Music: Music Studies

An entrance audition is required for admittance to ALL degree programs in the Department of Music. Please see the Entrance Audition Process for details.

Become a Music Teacher!

The Music Studies and Education programs at UMass Lowell are exciting, highly creative learning environments designed to help our students realize their full potential as teachers and leaders in their communities.

One of our primary objectives is to provide our music education students with the musical and pedagogical foundation and tools to create rich learning opportunities for their students to develop their creative potential and experience the world from multiple perspectives. Teachers must utilize all means necessary to create the kinds of learning environments that encourage students to take risks, be adventurous in their thinking and problem-solving, and unleash the imaginations they come into the world with.

We strive to create a learning environment in our programs that encourages active learning and engagement, one that models real-world activities. Since the application of knowledge involves ‘doing,’ our courses have been designed to maximize hands-on experiences, through problem solving activities, critical, creative and reflective thinking, in order to create a classroom environment supportive of the construction of knowledge, collaboration, and risk-taking. Our students work on a variety of projects both independently and collaboratively, involving research, creating, composing, improvising, and teaching mini-lessons. Since we feel it’s important to provide as many opportunities as possible for the students to interact with each other, as well as with the teacher, many of the projects and class activities are collaborative in nature, may involve technology and will support the active construction of knowledge. In many of these activities our students are asked to put themselves in the role of student creators allowing them to understand the teaching process from the learner’s perspective.

Our graduates often find their experiences at UMass Lowell prepare them for a real world approach to school music teaching which opened their minds to a greater diversity of methods and students than they could have ever envisioned.

We maintain a close network of cooperating teachers who mentor our students at the pre-practicum and practicum levels, allowing our students invaluable feedback in real primary school classroom teaching situations. We continually dialogue with this network of teaching professionals for feedback on our students and our program. Our graduates are in demand and are getting jobs; many are now in a position to mentor the next generation of music education students and are recommending our programs to their students and their colleagues.

5-year/Dual Degree Bachelors/Masters with Initial Licensure

The department offers a combined bachelor of music/master of music (B.M./M.M.) program that leads to a joint degree in five years of study. This program is open to exceptional students who want to jump start their teaching careers, eliminating one year of studies and tuition. Students can earn both a Bachelor of Music in Music Studies with the Master of Music Education degree. This program leads to initial teacher licensure.

Admission and Retention Requirements

Information about admission and retention requirements for this program, as well as about the application process for professional teaching certification and the curriculum options, can be found in the UMass Lowell online Undergraduate Catalog.